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Jon Bon Jovi says he isn’t ready to quit his day job and take over the Buffalo Bills — not yet.

In a statement released one day after the Star reported that the rock star has had discussions with Tim Leiweke, head of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, toward a future bid for the NFL team, Bon Jovi’s camp chose its words carefully.

“The Bills are not for sale and (Bon Jovi) has too much respect for (owner Ralph) Wilson to engage in any discussions of buying the team,” publicist Ken Sunshine said.

Wilson, 95, owns the Bills and his family has stated the team won’t be sold until after his death.

Saying Bon Jovi has “a day job that’s doing very well,” Sunshine added: “It’s preposterous to say he’s had any discussions with the Bills and Erie County.”

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Sunshine, who declined further comment, didn’t deny the rocker has interest in becoming an NFL owner, or that he had spoken to MLSE about it.

After a CBS Sports online report about Bon Jovi’s interest early Sunday, Leiweke told the Star’s Cathal Kelly: “Jon and I are very good friends. We talk weekly about his NFL ambitions. And so we’re actively engaged, but I think it’s still a work in progress.

“We can’t own a team (per NFL rules against corporate ownership), but we do have more expertise on how to build (stadiums) than anyone,” Leiweke added. “MLSE can play a role. We’re not the lead here. Our job is to augment whatever group may come together.”

In North American professional sports — and the business world in general — how things get done matters a great deal. Pro leagues may want to throw up trial balloons to gauge reaction, for instance.

Any capital that Bon Jovi has built up with NFL power brokers could have been put at risk with a premature leak, experts say.

“He risks offending the most successful sports franchise in the world (the NFL),” said Richard Powers, who teaches sports marketing at the University of Toronto. “This is shades of (Jim) Balsillie, who nailed the door shut.”

Powers was talking about Jim Balsillie, co-founder and former CEO of Research in Motion, who did not endear himself to NHL governors a few years ago when he talked openly of buying the Phoenix Coyotes and moving them to Hamilton.

Richard Peddie, former president and CEO of MLSE, knows the company would love to acquire an NFL team. When he was with the organization, Peddie said that acquiring an NFL franchise was one of the organization’s growth strategies.

Asked about the Bon Jovi story, Peddie said: “There are a lot of moving pieces and now (Bon Jovi) is one of them.”

When Leiweke was hired earlier this year as president and CEO, Peddie made it clear that Leiweke had equity in the people he knew in the NFL.

The future of the Argonauts would be in doubt if the Bills were to move to Toronto. The CFL responded with a statement saying the league remains “focused on building our league and, today, celebrating a new champion,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“From everything I’ve heard about Jon Bon Jovi, he’s a very classy individual and those kinds of comments are reflective of that,” said Chris Rudge, executive chairman of the Argonauts.

“For 12 years, I ran Quebecor World Printing, which was the largest printing company in the world. We did lots of deals, but you did it in the back room. Deals are done behind closed doors and they have their genesis in quiet conversations and phone calls.”

The Bills issued a brief statement: “The organization does not respond to reports of the interest other parties may have in ownership or of speculation concerning various groups that may have such interest.”

The Bills have played several pre-season and regular season games in Toronto, and will face the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 1 at the Rogers Centre. From a marketing standpoint, the timing was great for this story, Powers noted: This is creating a lot of buzz.”

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